A young girl in Yemen died after having sexual relations with a 40-year-old man who became her husband in an arranged marriage, according to media reports.

The 8-year-old was identified as “Rawan” and died from torn genitals and severe bleeding in the northwest city of Hardh, Gulf News reported, citing Yemen media accounts.

The child lived in a tribal area that borders Saudi Arabia. Human rights organizations have called for the arrest of the husband, the news site Al Bawaba said.

Yemen has often been criticized for allowing girls to be forced into arranged marriages.

Human Rights Watch reports that 14% of girls in Yemen are married before age 15, with 82% married before they are 18.
The country passed a law in 2009 setting the minimum age for marriage at 17. It was later repealed after conservative lawmakers said it went against Islamic teachings.

We would like to hope that the story is not true, for the sake of an innocent child’s life being spared, however even if this story isn’t true, the truth of little girls being forced to marry grown men in countries across the globe is all too true.

You have to watch this video of this little 11-year-old Yemeni girl who ran away to avoid being married off: